Bureau of Lands generates N4B

Mr Biyi Ismail, Director-General, Ogun Bureau of Lands, on Wednesday said the bureau had generated over N4 billion revenue between January and August.

Ismail disclosed this while receiving members of the State House of Assembly during oversight visit in Abeokuta.

He said the bureau generated N86 million from survey/planning /building fees, N190 million from rent on government land while N116 million came from ratification of Certificate of Occupancy.

“We also made N3.2 billion from plot allocation and layout fees and N49 million from of Certificate of Occupancy,” he said.

He said the agency had generated N1.9 million from inspection fees, N5.9 million from administration charges/fees, N407 million from governor’s consent revenue and N2.5 million from charting fees.

Ismail said the bureau also collected N4.1 million from documents, N7.9 million from certificate of true and red copy, N10.6 million from sales of bills of entries and N20,000 from sales of maps.

The director-general said the state remained the best in the country in terms of issuance of certificate of occupancy to land owners.

He said by December, the bureau would cleared about 90 per cent of the 70,000 applicants for the certificate of occupancy.

Ismail, who is also the Special Adviser to the governor on Lands, said inadequate funding and operational vehicles to meet the increasing demand for field operations as some of challenges facing the bureau.

Responding, the Committee Chairman, Mr Biyi Adeleye, said the committee was not out to witch-hunt the agency but to perform its constitutional responsibility.

Adeleye challenged the bureau to ensure a more coordinated and effective data management of land and related documents in line with international standard practices.